Better Together at Tain High School

Text of my speech to 5th and 6th year pupils at Tain High School this morning.

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Good morning.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you on behalf of Better Together.

We are a cross-party group campaigning for a NO vote in the independence referendum on 18th September.

You will probably be expecting a well-rehearsed list of scare stories about independence.

Project Fear I think we are called.

Facts, figures and fears about joining the EU, giving up the Pound, Bank of England control, can we afford our pensions?

What happens when the oil runs out?

Well I'm not going to do any of that.

I want to talk about my vision for Scotland and why I think we really will be Better Together in the UK.

I’d like to start by taking SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon’s advice.

In her speech in December 2012, the Deputy First Minister said this:

 “I ask you, as you make up your minds over these next two years, to base your decision not on how Scottish or British you feel, but on what kind of country you want Scotland to be and how best you think that can be achieved.”

So what is the Independence Referendum really about?

The SNP seem to be making it about what form of government can best deliver what the people of Scotland need.   Their argument, simply put, is that an independent Scotland can run its own affairs in the best interests of Scots than a Westminster government with a different agenda.

And while we endure the baleful effects on living standards of a Tory/LibDem Coalition driving through its, free market, small government, anti public sector, benefits cutting agenda that’s a powerful argument.

We hear much talk from the YES Campaign about democracy, about delivering a government for Scotland that better reflects the will of the people of Scotland than now.

But it’s not a joined up UK that is holding Scotland back. 

It’s the SNP who want to put it all at risk by a leap of faith into the unknown.

Everything will be fine in an independent Scotland because the SNP will make it so.

Europe will fast-track our EU membership because it’s the will of the Scottish people.

The rest of the UK will agree to a sterling zone because it’s in THEIR interests, whilst Scotland competes for jobs and investments with an Irish-style low tax policy for big corporates.

And look what happened there.

The SNP know this.  But in pursuit of their own ideology they are ready to plunge Scotland into years of economic uncertainty. 

In pursuit of their own interest they will not take some of the actions they could take now to mitigate some of the worst effects of the Tory/LibDem coalition.

They talk about Project Fear and Project Hope. 

But it’s what they are proposing that risks plunging Scotland into a generation of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

I’m a Labour activist.

I believe the kind of country I want Scotland to be is best delivered by progressive politics based on fairness, equal opportunity and social justice.

A Scotland with its own distinct political and economic identity but part of a socially progressive United Kingdom which shares those values, working together to deliver them.

So what does staying together in the UK mean for young people like you?

It means the best opportunity to work anywhere you want in the country without any artificial barriers.

It means that if you want to go on to study at a university or college you can choose the best one in the UK that suits what you want to do and not be limited by fees or borders.

The daughter of a friend of mine in Edinburgh has just chosen to study at Exeter rather than Stirling because it was a better course.  I’d never like to see her options limited.

First and foremost what we need in Scotland is a strong economy.

A strong economy that delivers decent jobs and a decent standard of living.

That’s hard enough in the current climate.

I think it will be harder still with the leap of faith proposed by the YES campaign.

Let me give you an example.

I run a small business.  We are a specialist IT Company.  We have clients all over the UK, from Invergordon to Edinburgh, in Birmingham, London and Cornwall.

We compete for that business against companies in each of those regions.

Times are tough.  Winning business and keeping people employed is hard.

Where we are based now – in Inverness – isn’t an issue.

But imagine if Scotland was a separate country.

I’m bidding for a project in Nottingham that will keep 2 of my team busy for a year.

Were good on price and quality, but were up against a competitor from Manchester.

Think about a post YES vote England which has lost its share of oil revenues and is still arguing with us about how the national debt should be shared out.

Today I’d probably win that business.  After a YES vote I’m not so sure.

Multiply that by thousands of small businesses like mine who trade all over the UK and what does that say for jobs.

What does that say for your chances of finding a job or an apprenticeship with a local firm.

It’s hard enough now.

How on earth will independence help?

Nationalism in Scotland attempts to provide a simple morality tale of decent, progressive Scots held back by whoever is their chosen ‘other’ of the day… London, austerity loving Tories, Scottish Labour.

The fact is that the citizens of the rest of the UK are not all ‘austerity loving Tories’, but are friends, family and work colleagues.

In Scotland today, the difference between pay and prices matters much more than any differences of outlook between Scotland and England.

In Scotland today, the real questions is will our children and grandchildren have a good school to go to, have opportunities to make the best of who they are for themselves and for others.

In Scotland today, detesting the Coalition’s approach to welfare reform which punishes those in poverty and blames them for the national debt is something my party and the SNP will agree on.

But it has nothing to do with independence.

I am a proud Scot. I am ambitious for Scotland's people and Scotland's possibilities.

My case is not that Scotland could not survive as a separate country – it is that there's a better choice for our future.

The best choice for our future is to remain a strong and proud country while benefiting from the economic strength, security and opportunity we can take advantage of as part of a bigger United Kingdom

The best choice for our future is to build a strong Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom which gives us the best of both worlds: real decision making power here in Scotland, solidarity with our friends in the rest of the UK. 

Doing thing differently where it works for us in Scotland, but staying connected with communities across the UK with common interests and values.

Scotland can be one of the best small countries in the world to live and work in. 

A free and equal country, where everyone enjoys the benefits of those values.

I don’t think we need independence to achieve that.

We already have a Scottish Parliament with the power to do so much.

We need to win a resounding NO vote in 2014.

And then we need to use that power.